A Peek at My Kitchen (and my favorite tools)

Over the years, many of you have asked for a little peek into my kitchen. What does it look like? How is it set up? Where do I keep the ferments, and the broth, and the sourdough? Which are my must-have tools and essentials?

So, I thought I’d take the time to show you.

My family lives in a tiny, cold and drafty home that was built in the 1890s. An old mountain miner’s house that housed many, many families before it housed mine. The eat-in kitchen is, likewise, small – little counter space and no pantry, though I do enjoy huge cabinets on the far wall opposite the kitchens tall windows.

And while it is small with the kitchen table occupying most of the space, it’s also cozy. Intimate and cluttered in an old-fashioned charming way. The cabinets hold our pantry items (read about building a traditional foods pantry here). Our fermentation pots sit on top of the fridge, and our water filter and kombucha continuous brew kit sit in the cabinets on their own special shelf. And every square inch is used in some way that works for us.

So while I’ve share with you how I choose cookware and bakeware and simple tools to get started before, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite tools and equipment, worthy of investment, that I use every day or nearly every day. These are investments that we made slowly: one at a time, over the course of years.

Water Filter

While, here in the high mountains, we live at the tip top of the water supply, heavy metals and chlorine are still a problem in our water supply. I take care to make sure that we filter our cooking and drinking water. We purchased a Big Berkey water filter a number of years ago, and still use it. They’re affordable, and while we still rent our home, I don’t intend to invest in a whole house water filter until we purchase a home. You can read more about why I think filtering water is important here.

Where I Keep It: In the tall cupboards on the fall wall with my continuous brew kombucha kit.

Continuous Brew Kombucha Kit

We also brew kombucha and jun tea. For my kombucha, I opt for a continuous brew which provides consistent access to kombucha and, for me, is far less hassle than brewing it by the batch. Last year my close friend Hannah, who runs the site Kombucha Kamp, gifted me with a stunning, personalized continuous brew oak barrel (see it here in my kitchen).

Where I Keep It: In the tall cupboards on the fall wall with my water filter.

How Often I Use It: Weekly.

Where to Find a Continuous Brew Kit: You can pick one up here (they make great gifts)

Grain Mill

When my family began to adhere to the dietary principles of the Weston A Price Foundation, we began to pay close attention to how we prepared our grains which is why I favor sourdough and sprouted grains so very much. And, with a fuller understanding of how fragile the fatty acids and vitamins found in whole grain flour can be, one of our first investments was in a grain mill – specifically a nutrimill. By the time it eventually broke, I had saved up and purchased a beautiful Komo Grain Mill which is quiet, and grinds grains from very finely to very coarsely.

In this way, we grind our grains fresh before using them for porridges, or cookies or flours (there are a few exceptions to this).

Where I Keep It: On the countertop, sandwiched between the dehdyrator and the stand mixer.

Dehydrator

I also use a dehydrator pretty regularly, as well. And it, like the grain mill, was one of the first big items I purchased for our kitchen once we began to change the way we thought about, prepared and enjoyed food. A dehydrator is remarkably versatile. Not only do we use ours for preserving the summer and autumn harvest, but also for preparing things like homemade green powder, beef jerky, and kale chips with miso and garlic.

Fermentation Pot

With all the fermented foods I make regularly, like homemade sauerkraut, preserved lemons, kimchi, beet kvass and others, and with the importance of keeping those foods in an airtight environment while they ferment, I invested in three fermentation pots some years ago. One is a five-liter stoneware crock. The second is a 10-liter stoneware crock. (You can check them out here). And the third is a custom-made, gorgeous 1-quart fermentation crock that I ordered from an artist on Etsy named Mark Campbell. His work is stunning, and affordable (and makes a great gift).

Where I Keep It: On top of the fridge.

How Often I Use It: Perpetual use during summer time, less often in winter.

Pressure Cooker

This year, after dragging my feet, I finally purchased a pressure cooker and have been so incredibly happy that I did. It has made eating at home much easier, as dinner comes together quickly. It also greatly reduces the cook time of beans and lentils which tend to take forever at high altitude. I picked up an electric pressure cooker – the Instant Pot which has quickly become my favorite piece of kitchen equipment. You can check it out here.

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About Jenny

Jenny McGruther is a wife, mother and cooking instructor specializing in real and traditional foods. You can find her first book, The Nourished Kitchen features more than 160 wholesome, traditional foods recipes.

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What people are saying

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with us. It is interesting to see what other people like to use.

I live at higher altitude (about 4000 feet), and I have found that soaking beans and lentils for 24 hours with 1 water change, has reduced the cooking time amazingly. Regular beans take only an hour, lentils less than half that. I have owned a pressure cooker before – the ancient one that was my mothers – which was an excellent pressure cooker, but those things have always scared me. That is one thing I doubt I’ll ever purchase. I’m trying to get into the habit of using my slow cooker, but so far the only thing I make with it regularly is granola…

We’re at just under 9,000 ft, and even with soaking (sometimes up to 48 hours) it can take 2 – 4 hours to cook pulses! Drives me crazy. The pressure cooker brings it down to a bout 45 minutes, for us, or, you know, normal cooking times.

When I make beans I make a tremendous amount of them since the prepe and cooking take so long then dehydrate them
Voila, now I have “instant” beans! Can rehydrate as is or crush them up first for either thickening or making “refried” beans.

Jenny thank you so much for sharing your kitchen with us. I do have a question regarding Kombucha. A friend gave me a batch so that I can make more however after reading several articles I worry about the high fluoride naturally present in black tea. Any thoughts on the subject? Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas.

In my experience, most articles that address fluoride and kombucha are not well-sourced, well-informed and tend to focus on fear-based tactics to drive traffic. The naturally occurring fluoride in black tea, and kombucha is minimal and I have absolutely no concerns about it at all.

A kitchen after my own heart, Jenny. My little place has only a corner kitchen in the living room, but the knotty pine walls in the little cabin near a lake make all make it all worthwhile. Thanks SO MUCH for sharing your home with us.

I love a peek into other’s kitchens. Thank you for the glimpse. Love those windows and your awesome kombucha keg! I am also a recent Instant Pot devotee. I had no idea when I ordered it how user friendly and versatile it would be. I use mine nearly every day and some days I use it multiple times. This morning I found two squash in my storage room that were starting to get soft and a little mold so I cut them in half, scraped the seeds out, trimmed them and popped them into the IP for 8 minutes. Squash saved. Now I’ve got a batch of bones and water transforming into broth in a mere two hours. It’s like magic! I bought mine mainly because my current cooking fuel is propane, which is ghastly expensive. The Instant Pot is my ace in the hole for keeping the cost of cooking {everything from scratch} affordable. I love the way it bails me out when I’ve forgotten to plan/prepare or just had one of those days when nothing goes according to the plan I did make. Thanks again, Jenny. Merry Christmas!

Hi Jenny, I just received your cookbook a few days ago. It is so beautifully done! I am going to enjoy it and learn so much from it! I love the quality and the way it feels in your hands. Thanks for the peek inside your kitchen. Love all those pots. We were trying to decide whether or not to buy a Berkey and you helped us make that decision with this post.

Our kitchen table is exactly like yours! Well, we had two of them actually, just alike, put end to end for years. It was makeshift thing to seat a bunch and it worked so well it stuck. Our son, who is a wonderful carpenter, took them and made one long table out of the two! So now we have a really long table with only four legs to sweep under instead of eight! The kitchen is not big so the table extends into the living room. Works for us though.

I wish you accepted guests…sure could use a few days away from a situation with our City that continues to keep us beat down. Your life sounds so lovely and back to nature. We will gets ours back; I have to keep believing that.

Thank you Jenny! I love it! I have made so many changes over the past few years thanks to you!
I’m wondering if you still do perpetual broth? Last winter, and now this one, I have a slow cooker going regularly with my roasted chicken bones. It has helped a lot with my broth intake, plus it keeps my Kombucha warm for brewing. Just wondering if you still recommend or make perpetual broth?

Love your kitchen. Everything today is granite and fancy but I really
do not think people are using their kitchens that much. Correct me if i am
wrong. My kitchen is very well used and love it that way. We are fixing to
move into my grandparents old farm house and loving forward to it. Love
your book as well. I do not know if a farmer’s market would be a beneficial
thing in the area but you really do have me thinking about it.

Hi Jenny,
I am new around here, I love your site and all the wonderfully helpful information you have to share. Thank you so much for the Kitchen tour. I do have one question 🙂
We are looking to get a WHOLE house filter, do you have any recommendations?
Thank yous so much.

I’m not Jenny, but just wanted to chime in to say I recommend the Pure Effect water filters. Great products, great customer service, reasonable prices (comparatively). They filter the usual things like chlorine, etc, but also fluoride, radiation, pharmaceutical residues, etc. And Igor will answer any questions you might have; I’ve found him to be very helpful and prompt.

I loved seeing your kitchen. I finally got your cookbook just before I left California, near sea level, for Utah, at about 3500 feet. My mother, who I’m now cooking for, has a lot of old beans and lentils that just will not soften, even with long soaking. So, I’m thinking a pressure cooker might save them. I would also love to save time! Thanks for the peek into your kitchen.

Thank Jenny…it is amazing how much one can cook in a small space. I have always had small kitchens and love it because when it is all dirty and pans everywhere it takes little time to set it right again. I love the cabin feel you have in yours. 🙂 I have most of your equipment but I went with the fido jars and the anaerobic fermentation system over the crocks. I am still saving for a KOMO grinder though. Thanks for sharing!

Cooking beans is hard for me too (5262 ft, Midway, CO), especially black beans. I use a LOT of lentils. Mung beans are also super speedy. However, I still soak about 12 hours even so, with a tiny bit of vinegar. Black beans are the WORST. Would love to compare notes on what has worked. I do not currently own a pressure cooker.

My kitchen isn’t small but it is kinda narrow. It’s one of those modular house kitchens, galley style, 14′ wide including cabinetry, closets, pantry, etc.

Also, do you measure pH on your ferments, and if so, with what? I may have gotten a ferment to work, been leaving it in the fridge until I know for sure.

Sweets, your kitchen is charming! No one is going to judge a well-loved kitchen table – unless the verdict is “homey”. Here in Europe your kitchen would be considered rather large, and prepping on the table is the norm. I can only dream about windows that large! My only question is how the heck you get to your cookbooks! I just finished planning and installing a new kitchen, and an accessible and relatively space-dust-free spot for cookbooks (including yours) was on the priority list. A kitchen is a workshop for food rather than wood or clay, and as long as it allows the cook to work happily and efficiently, it’s a good spot.

I stopped perpetual broth about 8 months ago when we were traveling, and never started back up again. Now, I mostly use the pressure cooker, and then reduce it down on the stove until it’s thick and gummy. Then I rehydrate as needed. That works well enough, BUT I’m finding that with the quantity we’re going through, I end up buying extra broth from Wise Choice Market or the Flavor Chef, and that gets expensive.

You can put more than one type of ferment in one room?!? Nice! I had been told I couldn’t do that so would put thw yogurt in the microwave (the only thing I use it for is fermenting yogurt or keeping things warm for longer 😉 or put kombucha in one room and yogurt in another. Good to know I wouldn’t have to separate them.

I just love your little kitchen! I would take it over a modern, stainless and granite version in a heart beat.
Just a thought. if you made your walls a lighter color, it would seem a bit more spacious, but, it is sweet just
as it is.

What a lovely cosy kitchen! There is nothing like real wood to warm a home.

Have you heard of the Instant Pot Jenny? I am a huge fan and use it almost every day. Just google the name and their site will come up. I teach Traditional Nutritional cooking classes that are now easily portable to people’s homes with the Instant Pot. 7 features in one pot and they all work well. The sauté function is great and it’s a stainless steel insert too.

Jenny,
Thank you so much for sharing your corner of the world with us. Sometimes I find it easy to get Caught up in all the I wish I had blah blah blah and letting myself fall into that horrible rut. Then a wonderful woman like yourself brings me back down to earth. You are a normal woman, wife, and mom who lives in a normal home just like me and loves life just as much as I do when I am not throwing myself a pity party. Thank you for sharing your beautiful warm kitchen and all the fun things you like to use each week.

Thanks for sharing. Always nice to take a peek. Like my kitchen, yours doesn’t seem to have much countertop space, yet a lot of your large items live on it. Where do you chop veggies and such? I remember a French chef that I heard speak at a food conference say how mortified he is by how many gadgets that Americans store on their countertops. I continue to remain convicted by this sentiment, yet flummoxed at how to make it any different….

I have growing concerns about lead in my slow cooker and am on the hunt for a new one. I don’t like the wording on the Hamilton Beach website regarding their slow cooker lead content as it seems to leave a loop hole if lead is ever found in their products. I’ve looked at the instant pot but fear that I wouldn’t be able to fit a whole chicken in there to make continuous broth out of as it states not to fill the pot more than 2/3 full. Any suggestions or expertise you can send my way? Thanks so much and I love reading your posts!

I enjoyed the tour through your kitchen. Thank you for sharing as I love to see what others do with their small spaces. I live in a small apartment and find myself in a never ending battle to make use of the space that I do have. Your article gave me some good ideas and also reminded me that sometimes the purchase of one appliance could eliminate several smaller tools.

Yep, I agree on the old pressure cooker. Got me a lagostina STAINLESS STEEL one with 2 psi ranges. The new ones are safe and almost idiot proof. Got a high quality Excalibur dehydrator after suffering along with a snack master for many years. Love it and the ten year warranty. Also love my cuisanart food processor, and my Atlas pasta roller. These pieces of kit are my main tools for cooking at home. I like your blog. Keep doing what your doin.